Engineers Australia has called for a priority to be given to infrastructure projects in South Australia over electoral cycles, as the industry faces rising unemployment.
South Australia’s jobless rate remained unchanged in August, but at 7.9 per cent continues to lead the nation.
The number of South Australian engineers looking for work is three times the national average and is part of a wave of job losses among white collar workers as the result of downturns in mining, power generation and manufacturing.
A federal incentive program now offers tax credits to mining companies for exploration, something the industry hopes will keep work ticking over until commodity prices rise.
But Engineers Australia believes federal and state governments could also play a role with long-term continuity of infrastructure projects.
“It is critical we have visibility of a pipeline of work to maintain skills, and secondly, that we depoliticise the awarding of infrastructure,” Greg Walters from Engineers Australia said.
“We cannot have the situation where the awarding of critical infrastructure is caught up in the vagaries of the electoral cycle, whether that is federal or state, or the vagaries of marginal electorates.”
Mr Walters said the state was losing years of knowledge.
“Effectively what we are doing is losing the knowledge, expertise and people from South Australia due to a lack of continuity of work,” Mr Walters said.
Engineers are not the only ones suffering from job losses.
A survey by the Australian Institute of Geoscientists showed one third of its members were looking for work.
“The biggest impact is in the mineral exploration sector which is where most geoscientists are employed,” AIG Council member Andrew Waltho said.
“When there is a downturn the level of exploration activity drops and projects are put on hold.”
Professionals move interstate for work
Along with the loss of jobs, the industry argues corporate knowledge and expertise is disappearing.
“We have a large geosciences software industry in Australia which relies on the local industry,” Mr Waltho said.
“We are exporting those skills all over the world but in a time of downturn, the ability of those companies to keep working, to operate and innovate really becomes quite restricted.”
As a result of the downturn, professionals are seeking work interstate or overseas while their industry groups try to find ways to straighten out the mining cycle of boom and bust.
While current professionals search for work, concerns are held for the next wave of geoscientists and engineers preparing for the work force.
Mr Walters said Adelaide University was recognised as a world-class engineering institution, but students are being frustrated at the end of their course.
“There are graduates who can’t graduate from their degrees simply because they don’t have the opportunity to do their mandatory work experience and placement, and that is terrible,” he said.
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